Hi,
I recently purchased an Advanced Frame AE 1044DS-XLC. I’ve had it out a few times - fine kayak. As you may know this kayak has two main air chambers. To inflate it following the Advanced Elements manual I partially fill air chamber 1 with about thirty pumps with the AE hand pump until chamber 1 is soft and starts to lift off the ground. I then fill air chamber 2 until it reaches 2 psi. If I then deflate chamber 1, the chambers are very soft - almost flat. If instead of deflating chamber 1 I deflate chamber 2 again the chambers are very soft - almost flat. Supposedly having 2 chambers would allow me to float if 1 chamber sprang a leak. I don’t see how this is possible because if I deflate either chamber, both chambers then are very soft - almost flat.
Are both chambers supposed to seem very soft - almost flat if I deflate just one of the chambers?
Will there be enough air in 1 chamber to keep me afloat if the other chamber springs a leak even though both chambers are very soft - almost flat when I deflate 1 chamber?
Am I properly inflating the chambers given what I wrote above about how I do it?
Will my drop stitch floor help keep the craft afloat if I lose air in one of the chambers?
Thanks.
Richard
I don’t have experience with that, but had looked into Advanced kayaks before. With any multi-chamber inflatable each camber losing air will lose some buoancy but it will be enough to float. Depending on design and on which chamber leaks, the boat may become a floating raft, or a floating sack. But unless you are near the load capacity, it will float and you can hold onto or sit on it. It won’t drive well, though.
The advanced design actually is good in that losing the outer chamber makes the “raft” not be lob-sided like it would be on typical left-right chamber designs. I also expect the hull to stay in shape somewhat in a way that you can paddle it back to shore. I guess you could deflate the outer chamber and try to paddle it to see how it works.
It would be good to know the actual psi-rating for the chamber in case you use a different pump. The “Pump 30 times” is a bit vague and only applies to that specific pump. You could pump it up 30 times and measure the pressure. I guess it will be 2 psi, like the outer chamber. But better verify. Maybe contact them.
You want the tubes to be between 2.5 and 3 lbs pressure depending on boat and the outside temperature and if ithas a drop stitch floor it should be between 7 and 9 lbs (I keep mine around 8). I beam floors usually have a relief valve that releases a bit over 2 lbs. If you do not have a gauge, I would get one. If the tubes are are dark colored and it is sunny, start on the low side , so as not to put a lot of stress on the seams and the pressure increases as the tubes warm up. Properly inflated they should be firm, but give a little under your weight. If they do not give they are probably too hard.
Thanks. Advanced Elements uses very specific psi’s (except chamber 1) to avoid overinflating and blowing out the chambers. I’m sure the suggested psi’s vary from boat to boat and company to company. For my boat the first chamber is inflated until it is soft and just off the ground. The second chamber is inflated to 2 psi which calibrates with the separate first chamber by pressure until both are 2 psi. My dropstitch floor requires 4-6 psi.